After 14 Years, News Coverage Suspended:
'I Need a Break, So I'm taking it'

I won't address the future because I do not have answers at this point. The job is simply too big for one person--even a young person! I will let you know as my thinking and rest develops.

Spalding Allegedly Raped Child under age of 13 Repeatedly:

Man indicted for repeatedly sexually assaulting child

• By SCOTT DESMIT, sdesmit@batavianews.com

Wm. Spauding

A Pike man was arraigned last week on charges that he repeatedly sexually assaulted a child.

William Spalding, 21, was arraigned in Wyoming County Court Thursday on a grand jury indictment charging him with two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child.

He entered a not guilty plea and is to return to court May 26.

Spalding was arrested in March after a Wyoming County sheriff’s investigation revealed he allegedly repeatedly raped a child under age 13 during several months in 2021.

The predatory sexual assault charged is a violent felony offense punishable by up to 25 years to life in prison.

Also in County Court last week and on Monday:

Firefighters spent Five Hours on Scene of Java Blaze:

Unsupervised burn pile spread to buildings, causing brush fires

• By SCOTT DESMIT, sdesmit@batavianews.com

Fire officials say an unsupervised burn pile spread to multiple buildings and brushy areas in a remote area Friday. The fires were reported about 1:30 p.m. at 3 North Addition Rd., between Route 78 and Java Lake Road.

The property, owned by David Watkins, could be accessed only from a single-lane road, Wyoming County Office of Emergency Services Fire/EMS Coordinator William Streicher said.

North Java, Strykersville, Arcade, Sheldon, Harris Corners, Wales Center, Chaffee/Sardinia, Monroe Ambulance and an inmatge [sic] crew from Wyoming Correctional were called to the scene.

Fire crews spent nearly five hours at the scene, battling fires at multiple buildings, a log cabin and several brush fires. No injuries were reported.

The fires happened one day before the state burn ban was lifted. There was no word on whether the owner of the property will be cited.

Tuesday 5-18-22:
SLDN News Briefs

• Biden condemns Buffalo mass shooting as act of terrorism and denounces white supremacy as ‘a poison’ while speaking in Buffalo to the families who lost loved ones and the 3 injured.
• Frost advisory issued for overnight (Tues.-Wed.) in Wyoming County

Tuesday 5-17-22:

Parolee charged with shooting JAVA woman in stomach

• By SCOTT DESMIT, 
sdesmit@batavianews.com

Jared T. Wrazen

A parolee was arrested and jailed after he shot a woman in the stomach during a domestic dispute late Monday night, Wyoming County Sheriff’s investigators said. The shooting happened five minutes after a person called 911 to report a violent altercation at the residence.

Jared T. Wrazen, 29, was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree crimimal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. He was committed to Wyoming County Jail without bail.

The victim, also 29, was shot in the stomach and was treated by EMS from Strykersville Ambulance and Monroe Ambulance. She was then taken by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center. Her name was not released.

Sheriff Gregory Rudolph said the shooting happened at 10:35 p.m., five minutes after the initial call. Deputies were on their way when a second call came in, saying there had been a shooting.

A 63-year-old woman and a 4-year-old child were in the house at the time of the shooting, Rudolph said.

Wrazen has a violent past. He was released from Five Points Correctional Facility on Dec. 16 after serving five years and six months of a seven-year term for assault and possessing methamphetamine.

Wrazen was living in Delevan in 2015 when he was arrested in May after driving his car into two people during a fight at a party.

In December of that year, Wrazen was free on bail when his residence in Delevan was raided by members of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force and Wyoming County Drug Task Force. Police discovered Wrazen was operating a meth lab.

Wrazen is on parole until Sept. 29 and on post-release supervision until Dec. 16, 2026.

Blogger Dropped Our Story on the President's Visit to Buffalo

Blogger/Google, as we all know, has a mind of its own, which explains why it is refusing to publish it. We will continue to try without getting too far behind, although I think we overworked the system. 

Please let us know if anything else is not functioning correctly such as links ("click HERE") so we can make our best efforts at fixing it.

An Historical Account--Original Draft:
Why publish a Buffalo story that becomes national and international?

History has always been my favorite subject. That interest was further stimulated as I began my family geneaology study. It was fascinating for me to place my family's generations into the historical patterns of America's historical accounts, wanting to know what was going on behind the family's life experiences. The last three generations might have been quite different were it not for three major wars and the U.S. Draft Boards.

This manner of thinking rejuvenated itself as I began to write a history of the Silver Lake Institute. Taking the dates of America's history and plugging them into the known dates of SLI, seemed to take on a much more indepth meaning just by knitting together the SLI "family history" with national history.

For example, the question has often been raised, "Why would the SLI Trustees of the 1950-era ever agreed to hand over a significant swatch of land and road to a government municipality in order to create a thouroughfare right through the center of the Institute grounds from Camp Road through Burt Park and over to Chapman Road?"

What could have possibly happened to turn a close-knit, gated community with toll booths into what at times becomes a "speedway" of sorts lacking respect for even stop signs? That's where U.S. history and policy begin to enter the picture. The easy answer is that the Institute needed a public access road in order to keep its Post Office in the center of the original acreage, therefore not involving the  campass on the south side of Chapman Ave.

The Trustees approved giving up ownership of the original Perry Ave. and ownership of Kingsley Ave. (the extension of Perry Ave. from the Park to Chapman), and the newly constructed road running through the west end of the Park. To get the mail delivery where they wanted it, the Trustees then had to diagonally move the Post Office building from its Wesley Ave. address, so that its official address would be on the newly-established public access road (Perry Ave.) now owned by the Town of Castile. 

Aftermath of Buffalo Shooting:
Attorney General warns New Yorkers to beware of scams 

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In the wake of the Buffalo terror attack Saturday where 10 people were fatally shot, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued an alert warning all New York residents to beware of potential fraudulent charities.

Dubbed a hate crime by authorities, 13 people were shot and 10 left dead in the supermarket shooting in Buffalo on Saturday. Eleven of the 13 victims were Black, law enforcement officials said.

Payton Gendron, 18, of Conklin, N.Y., who drove to a Buffalo supermarket and allegedly killed 10 people Saturday afternoon has been charged with murder, according to a report in syracuse.com, SILive.com’s sister site.

James’ office warned that scammers use incidents as such to make money and divert donations away from the intended recipients.

James expressed that scammers will take advantage of kindness for personal gain.

“As New Yorkers from every corner of the state show their support and solidarity with the Buffalo community, I urge them to be careful of sham charities and make sure they give to trustworthy organizations and groups,” said James, “I join the whole Buffalo community and the entire state of New York in mourning this senseless, hate-filled act of terror.”

IMPORTANT TIPS

10:00 AM:
SLI Trustees to Meet this Saturday

Location & Time: Epworth Hall at 10:00 am.

Emphasis: Epworth Hall Update plus regular meeting agenda.

Note: Silver Lake Association has not updated their website yet (as of 5/16/22).

Get Acquainted with New Perry:
PMSA holds Spring Meeting & Social

The Perry Main Street Association welcomed the Perry community to its Spring Meeting & Social on Wednesday, May 4th beginning at 7 pm. It was held at the Masonic Temple on N. Main St. in the Village.

The PMSA has been an active and instrumental part in the revitalization of our main street and our village. Their volunteer and enthusiastic zeal for rebuilding the business and social community of the Village can be seen in so many of the new businesses in our downtown area.

They have been working hard since their inception in 2005-06 with the blessing and involvement of the then-new mayor of the Village who brought his architectural firm to the area as one of the first new businesses along with "the bookstore" across the street from the Florist--both on Main cornering on Borden.

You may see an occasional empty store on Main, but the new trend is that it probably won't remain that way for long. Rather, a new business adventure may soon be on its way. Many of these businesses suffered through the long, hard days of Covid-19 and have now come through it as one of many staples in our community.

Spend some time this summer walking the new Main Street and shopping the great little shops of the village--and don't miss the businesses on the side streets such as Borden Ave., Lake Ave., Covinton St., and Short Street. Travel a few streets farther out and visit some other fine restaurants and business districts. Visit the spray pool in the Village park before wrapping up your day.

Weather 5/16-20:

Courtesy of Silver Lake Marine Weather Station

Health Day:
Monday 5/16

News Coverage resumes late afternoon and/or evening.

Updated 6 times including CNN at 9:36 am Sunday Morning:

Shooter Traveled Hours from his home in Conklin:
Thirteen Shot, 2 White, Ten of whom Succumbed in Mass Shooting at Tops’ Jefferson Market; shooter in custody 

The Buffalo Police Department has confirmed a mass shooting at Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue Saturday afternoon at 2:30. Buffalo, in Erie County, is Wyoming County's immediate neighbor to the west.

P.S. Gendron

The shooter has been identified as "white supremacist" Payton S. Gendron, an 18 year old white male from the Town of Conklin in Broom County. He was heavily armed and in tactical gear, but is now in custody. Gendron has already been arraigned in court and charged with first degree murder with other charges pending, according to the District Attorney. The shooter traveled the three-plus hour drive from his home in Broom County, east of Binghamton, to allegedly target this particular store in this particular primarily Black and close-knit neighborhood of Buffalo.

Police confirmed that 13 people have been shot and 10 are deceased. Of the 10, 4 were killed in the parking lot before the shooter entered the supermarket. Of those shot, 11 were Black and 2 were white. Four were store employees. The weapon was legally acquired but the modifications were not.

A retired Buffalo Police Officer was working security inside the store and was the first to be shot and killed inside the store just prior to the last moments of the shooter's assault weapon rampage. The security guard got a clean shot off at the shooter but the shooter's body armor deflected the round.

The shooter has allegedly written a white manefesto, giving this crime a racial component. Police are asking people to avoid the area around Jefferson and Landon.

Erie County Sheriff's Office ordered all available resources and personnel to assist. An emotional Press Conference took place in the late afternoon expressing extreme sorrow but also including tempered anger and determination. The press conference closed with prayers from the Fire Dept. Chaplain, a local and beloved Roman Catholic Priest, and the Buffalo Common Council President who is also a Bishop in a large, well known Buffalo church.

From CNN cable news channel:

Purported manifesto talks about 'dwindling size' of White population

Investigators were reviewing Saturday a 180-page purported manifesto that was posted online in connection with the shooting probe, two federal law enforcement sources told CNN.

The manifesto, independently obtained by CNN shortly after the attack and before authorities released the suspect's name, is allegedly written by a person claiming to be Payton Gendron confessing to the attack.

The manifesto's author says he bought ammo for some time but didn't get serious about planning the attack until January. The author also goes on about his perceptions of the dwindling size of the White population and claims of ethnic and cultural replacement of Whites.

A portion of the document is written in question-and-answer form.

The manifesto's author attributes the internet for most of his beliefs and describes himself as a fascist, a White supremacist and an anti-Semite.

This concludes our coverage of this

very tragic and sorrowful event.

Temps at 8:41 PM -- 71° at Marine; 72° at SLI Walkway:
SLDN Friday News Briefs

VERY WARM AND MUGGY TODAY (FRIDAY). This weekend's high: mid-70's on Saturday and Sunday with 70% chance of rain on Saturday; 70% chance of storms on Sunday and Monday with a high on Monday of 58°.

ENGINE FIRE DESTROYS A TRACTOR-TRAILER hauling manure in Warsaw. The engine fire was blamed for the blaze which destroyed the big rig Thursday on Burns Road, Wyoming County Emergency Services officials said. The rig was on the road at 1:33 p.m. when it caught fire. It belonged to Titan Enterprises and was hauling manure. The truck was totally destroyed, officials said. Firefighers were at the scene for four hours. No injuries were reported. Cleanup of a resulting fuel spill is being overseen by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Firefighters from Warsaw, Perry and Silver Springs responded, along with county Emergency Services personnel, the Wyoming County Hazmat Team, the Town of Warsaw Highway Department, Valley Sales & Service and the DEC.

CW4 KOCH

LEGISLATION HAS PASSED the House of Representatives that allows the Honeoye Falls Post Office, 39 West Main St., to be renamed in honor of Christian J. Koch, a Livingston County native, who was among three Army National Guardsmen who perished in a military helicopter training accident in the town of Mendon on Jan. 20, 2021. Congressman Chris Jacobs, R-Orchard Park, sponsored legislation, H.R. 3508, that would rename the post office the CW4 Christian J. Koch Memorial Post Office. CW4 Koch served for 20 years in the New York State Army National Guard. He earned numerous medals and awards for his service which included multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was also a civilian pilot with the New York State Police. Jacobs’ legislation now awaits passage in the Senate. In 2021 a portion of Route 64 in Mendon was renamed the Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian J. Koch Memorial Highway. Koch died Jan. 20, 2021 when a UH-60 Blackhawk crashed into a Monroe County field during a nighttime training flight. 

PERRY HOME SUFFERS SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE in previously reported fire — According to Wyoming County Office of Emergency Services, a home at 61 Walker road in the Village of Perry, Town of Castile, sustained significant damage to the structure and the contents, after sparks from a power tool ignited materials in a basket on Friday afternoon May 6, 2022 at 1:34 p.m. The home was undergoing renovation work at the time of the fire and the home was occupied by the owners Joey and Estelle Safford. They will be staying with family members. Perry, Perry Center, Castile, Silver Springs and Perry EMS responded to the scene and were on location for 2.5 hours. Also assisting on scene, Wyoming County Emergency Service, Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department and NYSEG.

HEALTH CARE: Easier access envisioned:
UR Medicine set to open new Batavia campus on Call Pkwy.

• By MALLORY DIEFENBACH, mdiefenbach@batavianews.com

UR Medicine will open the doors Monday at its new Batavia campus at 7995 Call Parkway, Batavia.

The new 21,455 square foot medical campus — located at 7995 Call Parkway — will centralize specialty clinics and primary care into one location, along with on-site lab services, making care more convenient for patients. It will also provide adult and pediatric allergy/immunology, neurosurgery, oncology, otolaryngology and audiology services, along with urology clinics and UR Medicine’s Batavia-based primary care practice.

Additional services will be added over the next 12 months.

Michelle Lawrence, associate vice president of regional development, said the campus is nicely located near Route 98. The health care provider also serves a lot of patients in Albion, so the Batavia campus allows them to also have better access to care. UR Medicine chose the location both for the opportunity to be in an accessible corridor and its ability for future expansion.

UR Medicine Radiation Oncology will remain in its current Bank Street location. Dr. Eric Wu and the Batavia ophthalmology practice are joining UR Medicine and will move to the Flaum Eye Institute’s location on Liberty Street on June 1, which will be expanded into space formerly occupied by primary care.

Dr. Web Pilcher, chair of the department of neurosurgery, said when he first started his practice 30 years ago he had a patient from Le Roy who suggested Pilcher come out to Batavia.

“The patients don’t want to travel to Rochester to see a specialist. They probably won’t get care unless you come out and meet them here,” he said.

Pilcher started traveling to Batavia in 1993 at St. Jerome’s Hospital before moving around to different locations in Batavia. Getting to know many people in Batavia, he said, the location became a regular part of his outpatient practice.

As he met a lot of area patients, it occurred to him that it was a big struggle for them to get to Rochester.

“I think from a patient standpoint, giving them access to the specialist, letting them develop trust and meet them is very important,” Pilcher said.

The Batavia campus, which will operate as an outpatient clinic under Strong Memorial Hospital, will continue UR Medicine’s practice of staffing specialty clinics with providers who are either locally based or consistently practice in the community, allowing patients to maintain a consistent relationship with the same providers.

Even if a patient needs to travel to Strong West in Brockport or Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for surgery, their pre-and post-operative consultations can often be conducted via telemedicine from their home or the Batavia offices, making the experience easier and more convenient for patients and their families.

UR Medicine consists of six hospitals located throughout the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions — Strong Memorial, Highland, F.F. Thompson, Noyes Memorial, Jones Memorial, and St. James hospitals — as well as Golisano Children’s Hospital, James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, UR Medicine Home Care, the Highlands at Pittsford and Highlands at Brighton, 11 urgent care centers, and an extensive primary care network. The Batavia campus will be competing against Rochester Regional Health, who is affiliated with United Medical Memorial Center in Batavia.

“I think competition is a good thing from the point of view of bringing services to a community,” said Steve Goldstein, president and CEO of Strong Memorial Hospital. “Our role and our job is when we identify a community need is best we can to provide that service.”

Temperatures Thursday at 6:40 PM:
Silver Lake Marine: 77°; Cell Phone: 81°; AmesWalkway: 82°; lowHumidity

Mugginess Arrives Friday Afternoon;
Some rain Saturday, Sunday with
Continued Mugginess and Dry Times

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Officer Dakota Spink also Assisted in the Investigation:

Perry man charged during traffic stop, arrested for DWI

PPD Chief Michael J. Grover reports the arrest of a Perry resident on charges following an investigation by the Perry Police Department.

On Saturday May 7, 2022, Officer Spencer Kramell conducted a traffic stop on Lake Street in the Village of Perry for a vehicle and traffic law violation. Upon interacting with the driver, 47-year-old Michael X. Lohmer of Perry, NY, Officer Kramell suspected Lohmer to be intoxicated. Officer Kramell requested Lohmer submit to standardized field sobriety tests, which he complied.

Lohmer did not perform the tests as instructed and was subsequently arrested for DWI.

Lohmer was transported to the Perry Police Department where he did voluntarily submit to a chemical breath test to determine his blood alcohol content (BAC). The test revealed that Lohmer had a BAC of .12%.

He is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08% or more and was ticketed for insufficient turn signal-less than 100 feet.

Per NYS Bail Reform, Lohmer was processed and released to a sober third and is to appear in Perry Village Court on 06/07/2022 for the below charges.

Also assisting with the investigation was Officer Dakota Spink of the Perry Police Department.

6:45 PM - 75° at S-L Marine; 78° at Haven & Ames Walkway.:

(Highs Today - 78 at S-L Marine; 81 at Haven & Ames Walkway)

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Special Weather Statement from NWS

Niagara - Orleans - Monroe - Wayne - Northern Cayuga - Oswego -Jefferson - Lewis - Northern Erie - Genesee - Wyoming - Livingston - Ontario - Chautauqua - Cattaraugus -Allegany - Southern Erie - Including the cities of Niagara Falls, Medina, Rochester, Newark, Fair Haven, Oswego, Watertown, Lowville, Buffalo, Batavia, Warsaw, Geneseo, Canandaigua, Jamestown, Olean, Wellsville, Orchard Park, and Springville 548 AM EDT Wed May 11 2022

 ...ELEVATED RISK OF WILDFIRE SPREAD TODAY... 

The combination of relative humidity values dropping to between 15 to 25 percent this afternoon, northeast winds gusting to 15 mph, and full sunshine on very dry fuels will lead to an elevated risk for wildfire spread today across western and north central New York. 

The annual statewide burn ban is in effect until May 14. No burn permits are issued.

Attica High Schoolers:

Driving distracted: Computer simulators illustrate dangers

• By MATT SURTEL, msurtel@batavianews.com
  

Attica Freshman Marley Weber, 14, tries to text
and drive at the same time during a driving simu-
lation Tuesday at Attica High School. Almost every
student participating wound up in a collision.

If Jimmy Helmicki had actually been driving Tuesday morning, it would have been wildly dangerous.

Seated at a virtual reality simulator designed to replicate impaired driving, the 14-year-old freshman accelerated to about 51 mph on a city street before slamming into the rear of a car stopped at a red light.

He immediately tried again, but his vehicle careened over a lawn at 48 mph before striking a house. He and his classmates laughed at his chaotic results — almost none of the participants would have escaped jail time — but the experience also drove home a lesson for the Attica high schoolers. “It’s to give the kids a little bit of an insight of the consequences of drugged and drunk driving, as well as distracted driving,” said Wyoming County Sheriff’s Deputy Sam West, who serves as the district’s School Resource Officer. 

“I think a lot of the kids are kind of sheltered from the things that happen in the real world. Even in this case, sometimes they come in and treat it as a game, but the video really hit home with a lot of them.” 

The activity was part of the national Save A Life Tour that seeks to demonstrate the potentially deadly consequences of poor decisions behind the wheel. Attica high schoolers watched a video detailing a tragic real-life accident and aftermath. 

Instructor Chris Rich of Matrix Entertainment talked to the teens about the dangers involved and the risks they’d be experiencing if the simulators were real-life. The distracted driving simulator forces students to text and drive simultaneously, while the impaired driving simulator mimics delayed reaction times, the vehicle’s inertia, and over-corrections. 

Most participants on Tuesday disobeyed red lights, swerved over double-solid lines, blew through speed limits and crashed within 60 seconds. A few students inched along at about 13 mph, which itself can bring traffic stops and fines for impeding traffic. It’s not exactly like driving a car but it shows the dangers, Rich said. 

Many students never realized the sheer number of infractions they were committing before they ultimately crashed. Rich had to point the mistakes out. 

“They’re trying to control those things, go down the street, and do it effectively, but how is it impeding their ability to do so?” he said. Freshman Marley Weber, 14, tried the distracted driving simulator. With her attention shifting between the cellphone and traffic, she drove maybe a quarter mile before colliding at an intersection. 

“It was kind of hard,” she said. “It was the distraction, I guess. I can’t pay attention to the road and the cellphone at the same time, so I was like, ‘Uuuhhhhh ...’” She uses her phone pretty often, but she also knows when to put it down — common sense and the simulation was a fun experience. 

What were her thoughts while driving on the simulator? “Panic,” she said. In real life, the consequences can be horrific for anybody, whether teens or adults. 

Rich said the program tries to get people to do better assessments of themselves, be more responsible, and understand the complexities and risks. Teens are more prone to peer pressure and their brains aren’t fully developed, so judgment isn’t really there yet. 

“You hear the phone go off and it’s just an everyday thing,” Rich said. “People are so distracted sometimes in a vehicle. Our video talks about an older gentleman who was in a dump truck who was speeding in a construction zone ... I think he was eating and driving, or messing with the GPS and killed a little boy.” 

It’s an important reminder as summer approaches. “We like to target it just before the prom,” West said. “Just another reinforcement piece and something to be aware of before they all go out and pile into a car together. Maybe this will stay in their head until then.”

More from the Village of Attica:

Investigators search for fire cause on Market Street, Attica

• By BRIAN QUINN, bquinn@batavianews.com

44 MARKET STREET
ATTICA

County and local agencies continue to look into the cause of the fire that destroyed a Market Street home Monday afternoon and evening, Wyoming County Fire / EMS Coordinator Bill Streicher said Tuesday.

Streicher said the investigation by county Emergency Management, the county Sheriff’s Office, Attica Police Department and Attica Fire Department is still active. He said no preliminary determination has been made on the cause of the fire at 44 Market St. that started on the porch on the side of the house, toward the back.

“We have more interviews to do and some more work to do. It’s time-consuming,” Streicher said of the investigation into the fire.

John Lavarnway Sr. and John Lavarnway Jr., the two people who lived there, are receiving Red Cross assistance as they look for a new place to live, Streicher said.

“Red Cross is helping them with their immediate, essential needs. The Red Cross is very short-term,” he said.

John Lavarnway Jr. had been taken to United Memorial Medical Center Monday as a precaution. Streicher on Tuesday said he hadn’t received an update on whether Lavarnway Jr. had been released.

Most units were on scene for about six hours, Streicher said. Firefighters from Attica, Bennington, Cowlesville, Alexander, the town of Batavia, Alden, Wyoming Correctional, Wyoming and Darien responded to the scene. Varysburg, Harris Corners, Strykersville, North Java, Warsaw and Pembroke firefighters were on standby.

National Grid and the New York State Police also assisted at the scene.

Brown allegedly Used Sharpened Tube to Assault Officer:

Inmate indicted for trying to kill officer who was saved by his pocket pens

• By SCOTT DESMIT, sdesmit@batavianews.com

WARSAW — Attorneys will be seeking to have a mental health examination done on a former Attica Correctional Facility inmate who allegedly tried to murder an officer in October.

Theodore Brown, 45, was indicted last week in Wyoming County Court.

A grand jury charged Brown with attempted aggravated murder of an officer, aggravated assault of an officer with a deadly weapon and two counts of promoting prison contraband.

District Attorney Donald O’Geen said a not guilty plea was entered for Brown and a mental health exam is likely to be conducted.

Brown, who is now at Auburn Correctional FacilIty, was serving a life sentence for a 1998 murder, assault and robbery conviction in Suffolk County.

On Oct. 8, Brown used a sharpened metal tube to attack a corrections officer. Brown had just left his D block cell to receive medication when he grabbed the officer’s arm and repeatedly stabbed him in the chest.

Two pens in the officer’s breast pocket saved his life, a spokesman for the officer’s union said at the time.

He said the pen’s blocked the officer’s heart.

The officer was treated at Erie County Medical Center and released.

Brown was taken into custody by other officers, who also found a rusted piece of jagged metal about 14 inches long in his cell. The tube he used to stab the officer was about 5 inches long.

The attack came during a year that saw more attacks on officers than any other year, a trend that union officials say is continuing this year.

‘The Best Time of the Year’
3 Days (of Sun, Spring Warmth) Down

3 Days (of Sun, Spring Warmth) To Go

Union: Officers Assaulted again at Orleans and Albion Prisons:

More officers injured in inmate attacks at two Albion prisons

Mark Gutman/Daily News Albion Correctional Facility

Two more corrections officers were injured in inmate attacks that came just two weeks after 13 officers were injured in separate attacks at Orleans Correctional Facility.

And last week, two officers were injured at Albion Correctional, a women’s prison, after being attacked by an inmate, said officials from the state Corrections Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

Western Region Vice President Kenny Gold said the first attack happened April 28 at Orleans.

An officer saw two inmates in a bathroom stall at the facility. He ordered both inmates out of the stall and they initially complied.

While leaving the bathroom, one of the inmates turned toward the officer and punched him multiple times in the head and upper body. The officer immediately called for a response as the inmate continued to attack him.

The officer grabbed the inmate in a body hold, but with one arm still free, the inmate continued to strike the officer in the head. The officer forced the inmate to the floor, where he remained combative.

OC spray was administered with no effect.

Two officers arrived to assist and were able to get the inmate’s arms behind his back, where handcuffs were applied.

Once in handcuffs, the inmate became compliant. He was placed in a Special Housing Unit pending disciplinary charges.

The inmate was described as serving a 15 year sentence after being convicted in Queens County in 2016 for first-degree burglary and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. During the course of the burglary, he struck a police officer, who responded to the burglary in progress call, in the head with a crowbar.

The corrections officer attacked suffered multiple scrapes to his neck, back, face and arms; pain and swelling to his shoulder and knee; and a contusion to the back of his head. He was treated by medical staff at the facility and transported to an outside hospital for further treatment.

Gold said he has yet to return to work. (continued)

Including a Brief Video Clip by Mark Gutman: below

Fire destroys Market Street home in Attica, one resident taken to UMMC

• By BRIAN QUINN, bquinn@batavianews.com

John Lavarnway Sr. was upstairs in his residence at 44 Market St. Monday afternoon when his son’s nurse, Lori Steiner, saw the flames coming up the side of the home from the porch on the side of the house. 

“The nurse came up and told me. At that point, we had to get my son out,” Lavarnway said of his son, John Lavarnway Jr., whom he said is paraplegic. 

 “He was on his computer. At that time, the porch was fully engulfed. We had to drag him out. The smoke was so intense,” Lavarnway Sr. recalled while standing not too far from the house as firemen looked for hot spots to put out. 

While he was standing there with a small group of people, Wyoming County Fire and EMS Coordinator Bill Streicher came up to him to ask if he wanted to accept Red Cross assistance, which Lavarnway Sr. did. 

Lavarnway Sr. said the grill he had just used on Saturday was never on and that he didn’t know what would have caused the fire. (continued)

Wyoming County: Fire in Pike and Fire in Perry

4 residents, dog unhurt after Pike fire;

2 residents safe from Walker Rd. fire

• By BRIAN QUINN, bquinn@batavianews.com

Halvorsen Road Fire in Pike

A family of four will not be able to return to its home on Halvorsen Road until repairs are made after a fire there Sunday morning, a Wyoming County emergency official said.

County Fire and EMS Coordinator Bill Streicher said the double-wide, manufactured home did not suffer a lot of damage, but utility and general repairs are needed. The fire happened at the home of Brandon Smith and Morgan Sommers and a boy and girl, he said. All four got out without injured, as did their dog, Streicher said. County 911 dispatchers got the call at 5:47 a.m.

“It started underneath the double-wide in a crawl space,” Streicher said. “The firemen were able to contain it to the area of origin. They had a hard time getting to it due to the fact there was a crawl space.”

Once firefighters got to the fire, it was extinguished pretty quickly. Smith also applied water to the fire before firefighters got there, Streicher said.

“Between the actions of the homeowner and the actions of the fire department, they were able to keep the damage to a minimum,” the fire and EMS coordinator said.

Firefighters and ambulance from Pike responded, as did firefighters from Bliss, Silver Springs, Castile and Fillmore. Centerville and Perry firefighters stood by in Pike and Castile, respectively, he said. Streicher’s office was at the scene as well, he said.

“The last unit was out of there in probably 2 1/2 hours. Right now, we’re labeling that accidental,” Streicher said.

The Red Cross was not called to assist the family of four, he said.

‘The family’s going to be staying with family members until they make appropriate repairs,” Streicher said.

Walker Road Fire in Perry

Another fire in Wyoming County took place Friday, causing significant damage to a home at 61 Walker Rd. in Perry, Streicher said.

Firefighters responded at 1:34 p.m. to the home, owned by Joey and Estella Safford. Sparks from a power tool ignited materials in a basket.

“The home was occupied by the owners, who will be staying with family members,” Streicher said in a press release. “Renovation work was being completed at the time of the fire.”

Responding to the scene were firefighters from Perry, Perry Center, Castile and Silver Springs. Perry EMS was at the scene, as were the Wyoming County Office of Emergency Services and Sheriff’s Office, and NYSEG. Firefighters from Mount Morris and Pike were on standby. Responders were on scene for about 2 1/2 hours.